An officer privy to the investigations said a few pieces of mobile phones were recovered on Saturday on the instance of Lalit Jha.
Published Dec 17, 2023 | 3:04 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 17, 2023 | 3:07 PM
Lok Sabha chamber of the new Parliament building. (Creative Commons)
Days after Parliament’s security was breached, the Delhi Police recovered fragments of some broken and burnt mobile phones from Rajasthan’s Nagaur, an official said on Sunday, 17 December.
As a result, the police added IPC sections related to the destruction of evidence to the FIR against the accused.
An officer privy to the investigations said a few pieces of mobile phones have been recovered on Saturday on the instance of Lalit Jha, who was among six arrested by the police in connection to the case.
A team of Delhi Police’s Special Cell on Saturday took Jha to Rajasthan’s Nagaur where he stayed with the help of accused Mahesh Kumawat, officials said.
Sources said that the Delhi Police had decided to add more IPC sections, including Section 201 (destruction of evidence/disappearance of evidence) in the FIR registered on 13 December. The police have filed terrorism charges under the stringent UAPA against the accused.
Police officials said Jha and Kumawat intentionally destroyed the mobile phones to hide technical evidence related to the case.
The Delhi Police have arrested six persons so far — Sagar Sharma, Manoranjan D, Amol Shinde, Neelam Devi, Lalit Jha, and Mahesh Kumawat — for their alleged involvement in the Parliament security breach case.
Of them, Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow smoke from canisters and shouted slogans, before being overpowered by the MPs.
Around the same time, Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi released coloured smoke from canisters while shouting “tanashahi nahi chalegi” outside the Parliament premises.
Jha, who was present outside the gate, recorded the act on his mobile phone. After uploading it on social media and sharing it with his friends, he went to Nagaur in Rajasthan. Kumawat and accused Kailash, who are cousins, allegedly arranged his stay there.
Later Jha and Kumawat came to Delhi and surrendered to the police.
“Before finalising this plan (to jump into the Lok Sabha chamber), they (accused) had explored certain ways that could be impactful in sending their message to the government,” a Delhi Police officer aware of the investigations told PTI.
They first explored immolating themselves by covering their bodies with fireproof gel but dropped the idea.
They also considered distributing pamphlets inside the Parliament but finally went ahead with the plan they executed on Wednesday, the official said.
All five arrested accused have been sent to seven days of police custody.
The police claimed in the Patiala House court that Jha, who hails from West Bengal, admitted that the accused met many times to hatch the conspiracy to breach Parliament security.
Besides, he was also required to be interrogated to ascertain whether the accused had any association with an enemy country or terrorist organisation, the police said.
“After the incident, he fled to Rajasthan where he stayed for two days and returned to Delhi last night,” the officer said.
The officer said the biggest challenge in the case is the fact that the police do not have the mobile phones of the accused that could help them trace the origin of the conspiracy and ascertain the involvement of more people.
(With PTI inputs)
